


The Best of Us

by Chrystie



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Dick Grayson Week, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Superpowers AU, depictions of rape, its not that graphic but just to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrystie/pseuds/Chrystie
Summary: Dick loved to fly.That was why it felt so cruel that when he needed to fly the most, he couldn’t.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Comments: 7
Kudos: 314





	The Best of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Dick Grayson Week Day 3: Superpowers
> 
> I swear the rape depiction is very brief and not graphic, that's why this is still rated T. The panic attack on the other hand, is more clearly depicted and both happen right around the middle-ish.

Dick loved to fly. He’d been doing it ever since his power presented at thirteen, although some liked to tell him that he’d been flying for much longer than that, that he’d found a way before the ability even manifested. Dick was lucky enough that the ability came without sprouting wings like many other flyers. Wings were an easy identifier and without them he could fly the skies to his heart's content while keeping his identity hidden.

Outside of his nightly activities he tried to keep his flying to a minimum, but there were times he liked to just let himself experience the weightlessness and ease his mind. Those times were usually when he was stressed or overworked and needed the fresh air. Other times it was when he just couldn’t handle the burden of his own shortcomings and mistakes anymore. 

That was why it felt so cruel that when he needed to fly the most, he couldn’t.

In the aftermath of Blockbuster’s death and subsequently everything that happened with Catalina, he wanted nothing more than to take off into the air and let his mind go blank, if only for a little while. Catalina had left him hours ago and it was only now that Dick felt like he could breathe again.

He stood on the edge of a rooftop, his mask and suit soaked in rain and cold sweat, both seeming to weigh him down and make him feel heavier than he’d ever felt before. He leapt into the air.

And he fell.

It took him a second to comprehend the sensation of falling, a feeling he hadn’t felt since he was twelve, before his bearings came back to him and he shot a line out to catch his fall. For a minute he just hung there in a stupor. He’d fallen. Flying was second nature to Dick, he’d never fallen before.

This was new and not for the first time that night, Dick was terrified.

* * *

It took a week for anyone to notice or confront him about his new method of no flying. Dick definitely didn’t always resort to only flying during his patrols, it was easy to miss things that way, but he rarely went without flying at all. The one who confronted him about it wasn’t who he thought it would be either.

“Red Hood. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Red Hood had been making himself known around Gotham and even Bludhaven for a while now, especially after his fight with Batman that somehow involved the Joker. Bruce never told him much about it and Dick was almost certain that he hadn’t expected him to resurface.

Hood leaned himself against the side of the brick wall. As confrontations went, the roof of his apartment building was not ideal. “Can’t check in on an old acquaintance?”

“Is that what we are? Definitely didn’t feel like that when you were shooting at me last time we met.” Dick put on an amused but skeptical face. All he really wanted to do was descend the two floors to his apartment and just lay face down on his bed. 

Hood tilted his head consideringly, like he was seeing right through him and it unnerved Dick like nothing else. Not for the first time, Dick resented that Hood wore a helmet that masked everything he was thinking. “Haven’t seen you in the sky much recently. You don’t take a break from soaring so often.” 

Dick felt his casual smile falter for just a second but he was quick to put it back on. “Those sound like words from someone who’s definitely not just an acquaintance. You haven’t been stalking me, have you Hood? Where is this sudden interest coming from?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Nightwing. Any idiot would’ve noticed.”

Dick would beg to differ. “Really? Then maybe I should be asking why you care?”

“Call it curiosity.”

“Well Hood I think I’m going to have to turn away your curiosity. Gotta have some mystery to keep the criminals on their toes and guessing. That involves you too, I think.”

“But are you keeping on my toes? Looks to me like you’re struggling to stay standing.”

Hood was right, and Dick hated it. He just wanted to try and get the few hours of sleep he could manage. Dick had to end this quickly. If things escalated to a fight with his level of exhaustion, he would be flat on his ass in seconds. “It’s sweet that you care, but I’m going to cut our little meeting short. Don’t want anyone thinking we might be,” Dick gasped dramatically, “Friends. Especially when I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you.”

“Then how about I see you soar off this roof?” It was a challenge and Dick knew it, but not one he was going to take.

“I would, but then that would be giving you what you want, and I can’t have that. Later Hood.” Dick shot out a line and leapt away. He’d have to circle the block a few rounds if he wanted to get into his apartment without Hood noticing. Dick could only hope for him to leave soon.

* * *

After a full hour of what was essentially an extended patrol since Hood didn’t seem interested in leaving the roof of his apartment building, Dick was finally able to slunk into his apartment. He barely managed to shuck off his suit, and fell face first into his bed.

And he was wide awake.

Of course his body wouldn’t actually let him sleep.

He rolled over with a sigh. This was how it had been since the incident. Since he’d played a hand in someone’s murder, since what had happened with Catalina, since he lost his ability to fly. He’d get home from patrol, exhausted, but come the small amount of time he actually managed to allocate to sleep, he just couldn’t do it. His mind was always too loud to be able to fall asleep. It replayed that night over and over, telling him everything he could’ve done differently, how he should’ve saved Blockbuster even if he’d felt helpless against him, how he could have stopped everything Catalina had done to him that night. The next thing he knew, it was time for his day shift at the station.

It wasn’t hard for him to figure that the two were connected and to figure why. Something, he didn’t know what, maybe his body or some higher power, was telling him he didn’t deserve to fly anymore, not with how badly he’d failed.

How could he still deserve such a luxury when he could barely handle the basic duties he’d sworn to uphold. When he could barely call himself a hero.

No, Dick didn’t disagree with this punishment.

That didn’t mean it didn’t sting all the same.

* * *

Hood apparently wasn’t planning to give up with the one attempt. He might have joked about it before but it honestly felt as though the man was stalking him. He’d stayed in Bludhaven for the entirety of that week, opting to keep himself more or less visible during the entire stay as opposed to before where he’d managed to mostly stay off Dick’s radar.

Everywhere he looked the man was there and Dick was pretty sure he wasn’t hallucinating him, even with his lack of sleep.

Hood never engaged though. He kept himself at a distance just scrutinizing Dick and if Dick was honest, that just more unnerving. At least when he was being upfront about why he was there Dick didn’t have to think too hard about it.

His breaking point hit on the eighth day when Dick just really had had enough. He’d just barely won a fight with a small group of bank robbers, something he’d normally be able to handle with one hand tied behind his back, and he didn’t appreciate the extra weight from Hood’s gaze two buildings over.

Dick swung his way over to him, and even with his face covered, Dick could tell that Hood was judging him for that too.

“Is there a reason you’re spending so much of your time blatantly stalking me?” That came out a lot more agitated than his usual casual, cheerful tone. He couldn’t really bring himself to care, not when he could barely muster the energy to pretend to be cheerful or casual, like Hood’s judgement didn’t rub him the wrong way.

“Just waiting to see how long before you pass out.” He managed to keep his tone casual and that really just annoyed Dick even more.

“Don’t really know what you’re talking about or why that gives you enough reason to stalk me.”

Hood scoffed, “You look like you're a light gust of wind away from falling flat on your ass.”

“Which brings us back to why are you following me?”

“Maybe because it’s not everyday I see a hero looking depressed as fuck jumping off sides of buildings and looking like they don’t really mind the fall!” Dick wasn’t really sure what it was that set Hood off, he wasn’t even really sure why he was so angry, if anything it was Dick who should be exploding.

He hadn’t realized anyone had seen him that day and he definitely hadn’t realized it could lead anyone to drawing that kind of conclusion. It almost sounded like Hood cared and that made the least sense of all. “Why do you care?”

Hood only seemed to get angrier at that. “I’m not a complete asshole! You think I’m just gonna stand by and watch someone plummet into some alley?”

Dick couldn’t answer that because he wasn’t really sure. He wasn’t really sure what he thought of Hood. He hadn’t gotten much of an impression past being dangerous and angry during the small time they fought. In a weird way it was nice to see the man wasn’t just another criminal. It was almost enough to push away his anger. Almost. “I wasn’t trying to off myself, if it’ll help you sleep better at night, so you can stop following me.”

“Then why the fuck-“

“That’s for me to know and for you to stop caring about.”

Dick didn’t wait to see what his response would be and shot a line out to head home and not for the first time, he lamented his inability to not have to depend on looming structures and buildings to help him soar.

* * *

In the privacy of his apartment, Dick really had no choice but to think about it. It wasn’t like sleep was going to come to him for at least another hour of just staring at his ceiling.

Hood had most likely pieced together the fact that Dick couldn’t fly by now. Given how closely he’d been watching him and their little encounter earlier, it wasn’t hard to piece together. Dick could only hope he didn’t plan to use that information against Dick.

Then again, it was weird, but Hood oddly seemed to care, if only a little and as loathe as Dick was to admit it, he felt a small sense of comfort knowing someone had been thinking about him.

He wasn’t dense, he knew that he always had people who cared about him. If he reached out, any of his friends would be happy to at the very least listen to what was on his mind and what he was going through. The thing was though, after what had happened. After what he could classify as one of the worst nights of his life, he didn’t know if he deserved the support anymore.

His friends and family would tell him it wasn’t his fault, that everyone made mistakes and that he was still a hero. But was he? Could he honestly still think of himself as that?

No. He didn’t deserve the support. And whatever amount of care or worry Hood had for him, he didn’t think he really deserved that either.

* * *

Dick hadn’t actually expected Hood to listen to him and stop stalking him. The downside of it was that now he was taking an active role in just doing Dick’s job for him.

The first night it happened, Dick didn’t really think much of it. It just seemed like a slow night for crime. They were rare but it was appreciated when they happened.

The second night, Dick classified it as a little too weird to be normal. It was Bluhaven after all, and he’d only stopped one purse snatcher for the night. Two quiet nights in a row never happened.

The third night, Dick finally caught him in the act, and really, he couldn’t even be angry at Hood. He was taking care of the crime, using nonlethal means, and was honestly giving Dick a bit of a break.

“What are you doing?” He said as Hood knocked out the last drug dealer. 

“What does it look like? I thought you were a detective.”

“Alright, why are you doing it?”

“What? I need a license to fight crime now? Let’s see yours.”

Dick wasn’t ever really one to be blind to someone putting in an attempt. Putting in an attempt to do what exactly, Dick couldn’t really put a finger on. Whether Hood was, in his own way trying to be his friend or just generally be a decent person, Dick couldn’t tell. But it was an attempt nonetheless and he couldn’t really fault that.

“Left it in my other suit. Since it looks like you’re going to be staying for a bit, maybe you should get one.”

Hood was silent for a moment, probably gauging Dick’s reaction. He really didn’t like the helmet. “You’re going to keep seeing me around.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

“And you’re not going to try and fight me about it.”

“Not as long as you behave.”

“You treat me like a dog and I’ll shoot off your kneecaps.”

Dick could kind of tell that Hood wasn’t actually being serious though, and maybe it’d been a little too long since he’d talked to someone so lightheartedly, but this was honestly kind of nice.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” He drawled sarcastically.

“Yup, say bye to your kneecaps.”

“And I guess that’s my cue to leave. See you around, Hood.” It was weirdly comforting that he could hear something that sounded like an amused huff as he swung away.

* * *

It was a little weird to unofficially be working with someone. He and Hood hadn’t really done anything like patrolling together or taken on any cases together but both of them working in the same city really took off some of the load on Dick’s shoulders. He wouldn’t exactly say he was feeling better. He still couldn’t fly and the guilt still ate away at him every night even if he did manage to sleep, but he wasn’t feeling progressively worse, which Dick hadn’t realized was something that had been happening until it stopped. Until Hood showed up, he’s been in a downward spiral that didn’t seem to have an end. So while he still wouldn’t say he was in top form again, he could say it wasn’t as bad as it had been.

They ran into each other about every other night. Usually they’d give passing greetings and jibes at each other. They didn’t critique how the other was handling things and they didn’t get in each other’s ways. They were managing to coexist.

That meant that night’s like tonight had never happened before.

It was pretty late into the night, so much so that it was closer to early morning and while Dick had finished patrol hours ago, he hadn’t felt the urge to just head home and collapse for once. Instead he got himself a cheap cup of coffee, the only type of coffee available at that hour, and sat himself down on the highest ledge in Bludhaven. The towers in Bludhaven never got as tall as the ones in Gotham, they didn’t have the money for it. Dick missed the height though. He missed being so far off the ground he could barely make out what was at the bottom.

Hood showed up about an hour before sunrise which was pretty surprising considering his patrol should’ve been over with hours ago too.

“Fancy meeting you here, what are you still doing out?”

“Could ask you the same.”

Dick just shrugged, “Knew I wouldn’t sleep so I stayed out.” Hood was so silent in response to that, Dick was almost sure he’d left. “What?”

“I gotta be dreaming ‘cause I’m pretty sure you just shared something about yourself just now.”

“You’re one to talk, Mr.Never-take-off-my-helmet,” Dick snorted.

“You never ask.” Hood apparently took Dick’s lax position as a reason to sit down next to him.

“If I did, would you take it off?”

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so.”

Silence fell over them and Dick hadn’t felt the need to fill in silence for a while but he could tell something was on Hood’s mind. “What awkward question are you gonna ask me?”

Hood tensed for just a second but Dick caught it all the same. He was probably just caught off guard at being called out. Dick had to admit, the reaction was oddly endearing.

“Can’t get mad at what I ask you since you prompted it.” Dick just nodded in response. “You still can’t fly?”

Yeah, that wasn’t a question Dick wanted to be confronted with. It was close to a month now since he lost his ability to fly so it was easier to think about. Dick had mostly come to terms with it but it still stung. “I was right, that is an awkward question. No, I still can’t.”

Hood hummed in response. “Got any idea why?”

That question was decidedly worse than the last one. Dick didn’t answer, he didn’t think he’d ever be comfortable telling anyone about it. Hood could clearly tell that too since he was quick to let it go. “Well it’s not like you’re doing a bad job without it, I guess.” Dick could still use a topic change though.

“What’s your power? I never see you use it. Do you have one?” People developing powers was really a fifty-fifty chance. It was just more expected for heroes to have them since they were more equipped but that didn’t mean there weren’t non super powered beings who donned masks and patrolled their cities.

“Really only use it when I’m desperate. It’s a bit… flashy.”

“Well now you have to show me.” Dick was pretty sure he was getting the hang of reading Hood even with his face covered. Dick could only guess that by the way he was slouching, he was a little embarrassed.

Hood held a hand out and materialized a flaming sword from it, just as quickly it changed into a throwing star, then a whip before fading back into Hood’s hand. Dick didn’t know why he was so embarrassed about it. He had flaming weapons come out of his hand, that was a teenage boy fantasy. “Why don’t you use that more? That’s pretty awesome.”

“Hard to be stealthy running around with a glowing torch.”

“But you could still fight with it more, I’ve literally never even heard of you using any of those.”

“Guns are more efficient.” He leaned back as the sun started to break through the horizon.

“I gotta say, I’m disappointed,” He had to fight off laughing at Hood with how fast his head whipped around to probably try and glare at Dick through his helmet. “You have a cool as hell power and you barely even use it, how can I not be disappointed.”

“Doesn’t matter how cool it is if it’s gonna waste my time using it. Besides, if I get any cooler, what’s there left for you? Gotta say things already look pretty bad for you, Pretty Bird.”

Dick retaliated to that with a punch to Hood’s shoulder which quickly devolved into them having the laziest slap fight as they watched the sun rise.

Dick later realized that that was the first time he’d managed to laugh in a long time.

* * *

Once they broke the first barrier of actually talking to each other on a semi regular basis, it was pretty easy for them to keep breaking others without the other getting too mad.

Dick was in the middle of taking down a drug operation when Hood decided to crash through and descend from a window. And people said he and Bruce were dramatic.

“And what do I owe this visit?” Dick grunted as he flipped over a swipe of a knife and quickly put the man down.

“You weren’t the only one working this case. Can’t let you have all the fun.”

“I don’t see why not.” Begrudgingly though, Dick was kind of grateful Hood had showed up. He was getting a bit more rest with Hood around, that was for sure, but he knew he still wasn’t at top form like he used to be. He could see that this fight, while doable, would wear him out by the time he’d handled everyone.

“Just say thank you like a normal person,” Hood said as he shot a couple of men. They were down, but not dead, he shot non lethal areas and Dick had definitely noticed that Hood had been keeping things generally non lethal since his stay in Bludhaven. 

“Eh, nah.”

The fight itself wasn’t hard, but there were more men than Dick anticipated. Hood was taking them out a bit faster than Dick was, mostly due to the guns, and before he knew it, they were done. Dick had planned for that to take a lot longer, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Alright, I admit, the guns are more efficient.”

“No shit.”

“Sword’s still cooler though.”

Hood waved him off and if he could see his face, he could imagine it sneering at him. Since they were crossing boundaries anyway, “This was pretty much the last thing I planned to do tonight, what’s on your patrol schedule?”

“You want to patrol together?” He could hear the skepticism even through the voice modulator.

“Can’t hurt every once in a while.”

Hood seemed to consider it for a minute before nodding. “Better be able to keep up Wonder Boy.”

They spent about half of the night actually patrolling which quickly descended to just racing each other across the rooftops, and play fighting. It had started with Dick lightly punching Hood’s shoulder over a dumb comment he made which, had Hood retaliating with another punch and soon he was swinging across buildings after Dick to try and get him back for knocking him onto his ass.

Dick got about five buildings away before Hood managed to cut him off and tackle him midair, both of them landing on the next rooftop. They wrestled and rolled around, both laughing the entire time until Hood finally gained the upper hand. He ended up straddling Dick’s waist and pinned his wrists above his head. 

And that was when everything went wrong.

Dick knew he was still on a roof with Red Hood, that he and Hood were just messing around. He knew that he was safe. But the second his back hit the roof and he couldn’t move, all he could remember was that night.

He felt Hood’s legs around him and could only think of Catalina’s. He felt his breath leave him and just couldn’t seem to get any of it back just as he had that night. It was like he was right back there, suffering through the grief of letting someone get murdered while the person he thought was on his side ignored any and all of his pleas for her to stop.

He couldn’t breathe. 

He couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t get Catalina to stop anything she was doing. He couldn’t stop her from killing and he couldn’t stop her from reaching into his pants and-

“-ightwing! Fuck, what the fuck! Dick, you have to breathe for me!” The weight on top of him was gone. He heard the words through a fuzz in his ears and faintly recognized that he was sitting upright with a hand on his back supporting him.

Slowly the world came back to him. Breathing got easier too as the hand on his back started to rub small circles. He could feel his eyes stinging with tears but couldn’t bring himself to care too much at the moment. “Hood,” he managed to rasp.

“Right here, Bigbird.”

“Hood I-” Dick didn’t know what he wanted to say, wasn’t sure if he should really say anything.

“What happened to you, Birdie?”

And that was when the shame set in. Hood would figure it out, he was too smart not to. Hood would know and once he knew, he’d never look at Dick the same.

Dick didn’t think he could handle that.

He knew he couldn’t handle that.

So he ran.

* * *

Dick ended up avoiding patrol for three days, something he’d never done since moving to Bludhaven, before Hood hunted him down. It wasn’t even fair because Hood cornered him by just popping into Dick’s apartment. If he thought about that night on the roof, he knew he vaguely had the memory of Hood calling him Dick for a minute. He’d really hoped it had been his imagination but clearly he wasn’t so lucky.

“How’d you figure out who I am and where I live.”

“Once you figure out the Bat, the rest of you aren’t too hard to guess.” He probably should’ve realized Red Hood had figured out who Bruce was during their whole fiasco a few months back. Whatever happened between the two of them and the Joker, it had sounded personal.

“So you’ve known the whole time.” That explained why he confronted him on top of his apartment building that first night.

“Yeah.” The silence they fell into was awkward and Dick didn’t like it but he was definitely not breaking it this time. He didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that Hood was going to confront him on. He just wanted to forget about it.

“Are you… well I guess it’s kinda dumb to ask you if you’re okay.”

“I’m comfortable lying to you about it,” Dick shrugged.

“Well, you really shouldn’t, I hear it’s apparently better to talk to someone when you’re not feeling great.”

Dick frowned heavily at him. “Is that all you came here for?”

“Dick,” Hood sighed, but through his voice modulator it sounded more like a growl, “Look I’m not going to force you to talk about it. Don’t think I could even if I tried,” He grumbled that under his breath. “But if you’ve been blaming yourself for being ra-”

“Shut up!” Dick hadn’t expected himself to blow up like that, he’d planned to stay calm for the entirety of this but he couldn’t hear that word. Hood couldn’t say it to him. If he said the word then it made it more real. It meant he couldn’t just keep brushing it off as just another incident that happened that night, that it was smaller in the grand scheme of things that night.

“Don’t say it,” he managed a lot quieter. Belatedly he realized he was shaking.

“Dick,” Hood said softly, like he was afraid of scaring Dick away. “You know what they did to you wasn’t right.”

“Of course I know that but I can’t...” Dick bit his lip. “I don’t want to think about it.”

It was dumb, he knew. If it had been anyone else, Dick would’ve aggressively defended them and told them it was a serious issue. If it had been anyone else who struggled to get someone off them as they begged them to not touch them, he would’ve been furious. But it wasn’t someone else. It had happened to him and he just couldn’t deal with the reality of that.

“But you can’t just pretend it’s not a big deal and ignore it and let whoever did it get away with it.”

Hood reached out to him and Dick flinched back hard. He was a lot more shaken than he’d been letting himself believe. He wasn’t struggling to breathe so he wasn’t having another panic attack but he was definitely on edge, which wasn’t exactly what he wanted either.

“Right, fuck.” Hood held his hands up so Dick could see them. “I’m not gonna hurt you, Dickie and I told you I wasn’t gonna force you to talk about it and I’ll stand by that.”

Dick nodded. His throat felt tight and he didn’t think he could say anything if he tried.

* * *

It really happened in a blur. Hood told him he was still gonna help him even if he wasn’t going to talk. He maneuvered Dick over to the couch without touching him, managed to rummage through enough of his cupboards to make a cup of tea for him, and was now sitting on the other end of the couch trying not to stare at Dick and failing even despite his helmet. Hood had shed his jacket and gun holsters since he invaded Dick’s home but the helmet stayed in place.

“Why do you care so much?” Dick finally managed to say after slowly finishing off his tea. It was the first thing he’d managed to say since his throat closed up and his chest started to ache.

“Why wouldn’t I care?”

“We barely know each other, we aren’t guaranteed to always be on the same side, and you hate Batman, someone I work with.”

“Not true. I know who you are and it shouldn’t matter if I do or not to be able to see that what happened to you is fucked up.”

“You know my name and a public persona I put on for the press, and there are others who could use your help a lot more than me.”

Hood tilted his head down at Dick and he just knew he was frowning. “You’re someone who spends his days running around catching criminals and weeding out the corrupt police force and then spends his nights doing the exact same thing in even more dangerous situations. You’ve done that most of your life and your main criticism to yourself is that you could still be doing more. 

“You aggressively care about every single person in your life to a fault and forget to think about yourself like what you’re doing right now! You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever fucking met. What happened to you happens a lot more than it should, and no one deserves to be a victim of it but especially not you!” Hood’s voice had steadily raised to a shout and he seemed to realize that. “Something like this should’ve never happened to you, not when you’re the best of us,” that came out a lot quieter.

Dick hadn’t realized he’d started crying until he felt the tears slide past his chin. When Hood reached for him this time, he didn’t flinch, he just let him pull him into the crook of his neck and cried his heart out as Hood stroked his hair.

“You’re wrong,” Dick hiccuped, his voice further muffled by Hood’s shoulder. “I’m not-”

“Shut up, Goldie.”

Dick just clutched harder to Hood. “I couldn’t stop her. She shot him and then she-” Dick’s voice broke, he still couldn’t say it. “I couldn’t stop her. It’s my job to stop her.”

“All of us fuck up, even the best, it’s not your fault for what she did and it’s absolutely not your fault for what she did  _ to you _ . You have to stop blaming yourself, Dickie.”

Dick wasn’t sure how but he managed to cry harder, and he knew deep down it was because he desperately wanted Hood to be right.

* * *

Dick ended up missing patrol for another two nights after Hood’s unplanned visit. If it had been any other time or for any other reason, Dick would’ve kicked himself for being off the streets for so long, but Hood had convinced him he needed the break. After having taken the two extra days, Dick could admit that Hood had been right. He did need the break, at the very least so he could process what Hood had said to him.

He felt better. He wasn’t perfect and he definitely wasn’t over it, but he felt better. The overbearing guilt he’d felt just seemed lighter. Sure it was still there, Dick had a feeling it would always be there but it didn’t hurt to carry it as much. Maybe therapists were onto something when they said it helped to talk about your problems. 

It felt good to swing and run through the city after a few days off though. Being in the air was just in his blood, even if he had to be held up by a rope now. He’d grown used to it over the month and while he missed free flying everyday, this wasn’t so bad either.

The night ended up passing by very quickly. He stopped a few muggings, a bank robbery, picked up on hints of a new drug being passed around, and got note of an arms deal among the major gangs. That last one Hood would probably be interested in.

With all of that, he still spent most of that time in the air, jumping and swinging from building to building. He hadn’t caught a single sign of Hood anywhere and he couldn’t say he wasn’t a little disappointed. When Hood had left the other night, it was after Dick had tired himself out and fallen asleep on him. Dick hadn’t gotten the chance to properly thank him.

With a sigh, figuring he wouldn’t find Hood that night, he headed home. He was about half way home, swinging through the air, when he realized something was off with his grappling. All the motions of it were fine, the claws were embedded fine in every building he shot towards, the arc was a full swing and the brief moment where he was soaring through the air untethered before he landed on the next building was the same distance it always was. There was just a certain weightlessness to it, like he didn’t really need the arc to propel him into the sky.

Dick landed himself on the next building and pulled his grapple in. For the first time in what felt like far too long he looked up to the sky in fascination and looked over the edge of the building with hope. Tucking away the grapple, he ran as fast as he could and leapt right over the edge.

For the first time in a month, Dick was weightless. He soared and flipped and drew circles through the clouds, laughter echoing behind him the entire way, and he knew he had to find Hood.

* * *

Somehow unsurprisingly, he found Hood on the roof of his building, waiting for him. Dick flew straight at him, tackling him onto his back. “Hood!” Dick grinned down at him.

“What the hell Grayson! What do you… You were flying,” He sounded more relieved than anything and Dick felt warmth spread through his chest. It never ceased to amaze him just how much this person he’d barely known cared. Hood didn’t even bother to push Dick off him.

“I was flying! And I’m thanking you for it.”

“Should you though? I didn’t really do anything.”

“Hey,” Dick smacked his chest, “no. You did a lot. A lot more than you really needed to for a stranger.”

“Told you, Pretty Bird, you’re not a stranger.”

“Is that what you tell yourself for why you wanted to help me?”

“No.” Hood tucked a strand of hair behind Dick’s ear and Dick desperately wished he could see Hood’s expression. “I told you why. You’re one of the best, not sure a lot of us could handle doing what we do without you.”

“You’re such a sap,” Dick couldn’t stop grinning, and with more clarity for how he felt than he’d had all month, he leant down and kissed Hood’s helmet where his lips would’ve been.

Hood tensed and that was definitely not the reaction Dick had wanted. “Did I read everything wrong? God I should get off you.” A hand on his waist stopped him before he could.

“It’s not that. You’re just not gonna like who you find under this helmet. Definitely not enough to want to kiss.”

“Is that your way of telling me you think you’re ugly? ‘Cause I don’t think I’m that shallow.”

“No, Dickhead.” With the most put upon sigh, Hood reached behind his head, which was a feat considering he was still flat on his back, and with a hiss, his helmet came off to show… another mask.

“Do you really wear another domino mask underneath your full face helmet?” Dick had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing in his face. That would be rude even if it was completely hilarious.

“Take it off.” That had Dick freezing.

“You’re sure? Just ‘cause you know who I am, doesn’t mean you need to show me who you are.”

“Just take it off, Dickie.” Hood’s voice wasn’t as deep as Dick had thought it would be but it was just as smooth, even with a hint of a Gotham accent in it.

Dick gently reached for it, giving Hood time to change his mind if he wanted. He said nothing as Dick lifted a corner and he could feel him stop breathing as Dick slowly peeled it off to reveal beautiful teal eyes that he’d recognize a mile away.

“Jason,” Dick more breathed it than said. Jason was alive. Jason was alive and spent his first few months terrorizing Gotham and then the last trying his best to help Dick however he could. Jason was alive and he was being just as complicated as he had been before he died.

“Told ya you wouldn’t wanna be kissing whoever it was under the hood.” Past the bravado, Dick could see the apprehension. It really was different being able to see his every reaction. He still wasn’t sure if Jason had taken in a breath yet since he took off the helmet.

Despite how much he’d grown and how much he’d changed, Dick could still see the scared kid he used to be and Dick had never been more endeared.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Jay.” Dick leaned back down and kissed him again, properly this time. He would’ve been worried about how stiff Jason got if he hadn’t come to his senses only a moment later and wrapped an arm around his waist, responding to the kiss.

They parted when Dick started feeling out of breath, but that didn’t stop him from pecking a kiss to Jason’s nose too. “I would’ve wanted whoever it was under the hood, knowing it’s you just makes it more special.”

“Who’s the sap now, Dickie.” Jason had the softest smile on him that warmed Dick all over and all he wanted to do was kiss him again.

“Still you. You’re my sap.”

* * *

Jason hadn’t exactly planned to stay in Bludhaven this semi permanently, but he couldn’t exactly be upset about how things had turned out.

When he’d initially come to Bludhaven, it was just to check on a source about a potential team up between two gangs from Gotham and Bludhaven. That was something better off being nipped at the bud. And if he happened to sneak a peek into what Dick was doing, then only he would have to know.

What he hadn’t expected on his first night was to see Dick jump from a building and plummet towards the ground like being in the air wasn’t ingrained into him. Jason ran towards him before he could think and abruptly stopped when he noticed Dick had caught himself before he hit the ground. Needless to say, Jason felt like throwing up from how hard his heart was beating from the terror; from almost losing Dick.

Maybe he couldn’t exactly think of it like that considering how long it had been since he’d talked to him or even let him know he was alive, but still. Seeing something like that definitely warranted a reason to stay a little longer.

Confronting Dick about it wasn’t exactly easy. Dick apparently hadn’t heard anything about him, which was such a classic Bruce move Jason could almost slap him and then himself since he wasn’t really sure how to tell Dick either, so he didn’t. 

It was a weight off his back to hear that Dick hadn’t been trying to take his life but almost just as worrying when looking at the state he was in. Dick looked bad. Worse than Jason had ever seen and Jason had seen him in some pretty exhausted states while growing up. He hadn’t looked like he’d slept in weeks, he could barely stand up straight and walked around with his shoulders slouched. Worst of all, Dick clearly somehow lost his power to fly. It was so off putting to see him like that. He was still getting his job done, both day and night, the stupid idiot, but it was clearly wearing him out.

Being the stubborn idiot he was, Jason knew he wouldn’t exactly listen to him if he just told him to take a break so he decided he’d do the next best thing: he took off some of his work load. Jason ended up giving himself a dual job too, driving himself to Gotham during the early evening to handle whatever he needed to do there and then driving back to Bludhaven for a nightly patrol.

It wasn’t really all that tiring and it was nice that it kept him busy. It was even better that he could see the improvement it was making for Dick. He still looked weary and he still couldn’t fly for whatever reason but he didn’t look as worn out after a fight like he did before. If for nothing else, that made the effort worth it.

Dick also seemed to be warming up to him the longer he stayed. It was nice, not that Jason would ever admit that out loud. What wasn’t nice was Dick’s insistence on asking why Jason cared so much. Of course Jason cared, he couldn’t get himself to not care. He’d never been able to get himself to stop caring about how Dick was doing or what he thought of him but Jason was never going to tell Dick that. There was never supposed to be an instance where Jason revealed to Dick how much he looked up to him and may or may not have had a crush on him for the better part of his two lives.

That was until it just came out. Jason could definitively say there were very few things that made him more angry than rape. But rape committed towards Dick? If Dick hadn’t been having a panic attack, if he hadn’t looked like he was about to have another one after Jason confronted him about it, Jason would have already been on the hunt to kill whoever it was that had done it to him. 

But that wasn’t what Dick needed at that moment. At that moment Dick needed someone to talk to and someone to remind him that whatever happened to him wasn’t his fault. Jason should’ve known that Dick had been blaming himself for the whole thing, the martyr that he was.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to kill Dick’s rapist though. He fully intended to put a bullet through their chest and watch them bleed out and enjoy it. That resolve only intensified when Dick had all but told him who it was. Catalina Flores was a dead woman.

Knowing something like that would definitely be something Dick would agonize over too, Jason had every intention to keep his plans from him. He’d find out eventually but that would be a boat they’d cross later.

Until then, Jason had been planning on keeping their relationship light with minimal interaction. Dick, of course, had to throw a giant wrench into that plan and Jason couldn’t even complain.

“Are you spacing while I’m trying to snuggle?” Dick broke him out of his thoughts.

“Didn’t realize snuggling needed so much of my focus.” He still readjusted them into a comfier position on the couch with Dick fully on top of him.

“It does. That focus needs to be on me and not whatever’s making the crease between your brows.” Dick reached up to gently massage the area between his brows with a finger which Jason easily caught.

“And what if it’s you I’m thinking about.”

“Then think about the right now me that’s on top of you and wanting to kiss you.”

“Well I guess when you put it that way.” Jason pressed a kiss to Dick’s captured hand before letting Dick lean down to seal their lips together.

Yeah, Jason really couldn’t complain at all.


End file.
